E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

THE POSTCOMMUNION. 141
gation at Mass have, as in the primitive Church,
communicated.
Here are examples of Postcommunions taken from
different feasts :
The Second Sunday in Advent. Filled with the
food of spiritual nourishment, we humbly implore
of Thee, O Lord, to teach us by sharing in this
Mystery to despise earthly and to love heavenly
things.
The Vigil of Christmas. Grant us, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, to draw the breath of life in the
meditation of the Nativity of Thy only-begotten
Son, by Whose heavenly mystery we are fed and
given to drink.
The feast of the Precious Blood. Admitted to the
holy table, O Lord, we have drawn waters in joy
from the fountains of the Saviour. May His Blood
be for us, we implore, a fountain of water springing
up unto everlasting life.
The feast of St. Catharine of Sienna. May the
heavenly banquet, wherein we have been fed, obtain
for us eternal life, as it also nourished the life of the
body for the holy virgin Catharine.
The feast of St. Aloysius. Grant, O Lord, that
we who have been nourished by the bread of angels
may live with angelic purity, and that we may ever
be constant in thanksgiving, after the example of
him whom we honour to-day.